Next Gen: Blossoming
by Samtastic 3.0
Summary: After the whole Ares incident was taken care of, Mai Su was eager to resume a normal life. ANd even better, now she has friends, including a new best Friend, Ani, who is the nicest girl Mai has ever met. Over time, Mai realizes just how much Ani means to her, perhaps as more than a friend...


**Sorry I've been inactive, lately. Kinda hit a funk, so I took a while off to really try and WORK on my writing. I've also been helping some new friend with their EUF stories, which I think has helped a bit.**

 **This is based off a Netflix movie that I quite enjoyed, and I came up with this story idea for it. This story isn't exactly my first attempt at this writing style, but this time I'm giving it a bit more thought.**

 **Enjoy :D  
**

* * *

Mai Su tensed up as her mother drove away, wishing her a good day. She looked at the sign in front of the building that read "Grainland High: Welcome back, students!" Mai was a tough girl who was a bit of a loner, but even she had to admit she was close to fainting at the thought of starting high school. Still, she did have SOME fame for what happened a few months ago, as well as two new BFFs, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

At the very least, the town (and slowly the world) was getting off their keisters and becoming more involved in their lives after the whole "Ares" incident. Robots were still frequent, but people weren't using them to run their lives. PEOPLE were actually seen doing their jobs by themselves, with the robots back to what they were originally designed to be: assistants.

Mai gripped the straps of her backpack as she entered the school's front entrance, where she saw a woman and a robot sitting at a table. She saw they were actually working together, the robot scanning students and getting their identities, followed by the woman handing them their class schedules and syllabuses.

"Well, Ares and Justin did show us what would happen if robots are given too much power," Mai shrugged, walking over and getting her papers. She then headed through the crowded halls to homeroom, bumping into several people along the way. (Of course during this, she had many people snip at her, telling her to watch it, and calling her "freshmeat".)

She hated that she had to leave 77 (her robot best buddy) at home, but her mom pointed out that he couldn't go to school unless he worked or volunteered there; at least he would be able to start coming in a few weeks when soccer season started back up.

"Mai, over here!"

Mai felt her heart flutter for just a second before he turned and saw that familiar curly red afro amongst the sea of heads. Sur enough, her best friend Ani Akana pushed her way through the crowd and began walking alongside her.

"Hey, Ani," Mai said, trying to sound as casual as possible, "How's it going?"

"Pretty good, actually," Ani smiled, as she started to explain how her morning had gone. As they walked, Mai casually glanced over at her friend and saw that Ani was dressed in her usual wear: a long plaid skirt (that left EVERYTHING to the imagination), a light blue blouse under a magenta sweater, white knee socks, and black flats. Basically, somewhat of a completely appropriate, non-slutty school girl outfit.

Yet she still looked amazing, especially with her signature bow in her hair. Mai couldn't help but look at her as she rambled on and on, seemingly without a care in the world. Mai often wished she could have Ani's carefree outlook on things. But more often than that, she wished she could have Ani.

It was the start of middle school 3 years ago when Mai slowly started realizing she liked girls. It started small, with her being the only one who didn't swoon over class hotshot Justin Drakes like all the rest of the girls. Then came the occasional eye-wandering in the locker room during gym class. Finally, by the time she started 8th Grade, Mai knew fully well that she preferred girls over guys. She still wasn't fully sure if she was gay or bi, because she could still admire a guy from time to time, but above all her preference was girls.

Of course, being the loner outcast made it hard for Mai to accept who she was, deciding she didn't need ANOTHER reason to be shunned by her peers, and her mom (at the time) was of no help, so she kept any feelings of romance, for a boy or a girl, in the back of her mind, figuring that was something she could focus on in her college years.

But of course, she had no idea the perfect person had been sitting behind her all those years.

After the buzz from the Ares incident finally started to die down, Mai had really gotten to know Ani, and realized they had a lot in common. She also realized how much she just enjoyed Ani's company; at first she thought it was just because of the years of self-isolation, but she soon realized it was so much more.

Mai didn't need to be a genius to realize she was falling for Ani. She was just a great person to be around; adorkable would be the perfect word to describe her. But despite how close the duo had become, Mai was still so reluctant to try and become anything more, mainly out of fear of scaring Ani off.

Sure, it was 2050, and bigotry against bi and homosexuality was all but erased, but that didn't make it any easier for Mai. A part of her told her it was just her fear of rejection, and she needed to find out if Ani felt the same way, or she'd regret it forever. But another part of her was just too nervous to try, causing her to sweat at the very idea.

And this was the same girl who had killed a malicious human-hating artificially intelligent robot.

Mai shook her head as she pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind, realizing Ani had been telling a story as the two walked to class.

"-and by the time Dad ran in to break it up, Artie had Andy in a headlock, while Axel was pinning Adam to the ground. And as usual, while Dad was pulling them apart, a few more fists were thrown," Ani said, giggling, "Of course I was off to the side, yelling support the whole time. Never to anyone specific, just love watching a good old-fashioned fight between my family members before school."

Mai chuckled as she nodded; she had yet to meet Ani's family, though she was aware that her friend's father had died shortly after she was born, and a few years later her mother remarried, only for she herself to pass on as well. Thus, her stepfather Cubert had raised her and her brothers, treating them as his own children. However, he often worked long hours to support the family, so her 4 older brothers, who were fiercely overprotective of her, were usually left in charge. During this time, they made sure their little sis was prepared for the world. Wedgies, noogies, wrestling sessions, games of say uncle, all were a regular thing for the girl to teach her to fight back and stand up for herself. Mai had to wonder how the girl was so easy-going and friendly; based on what she described about her home-life, most would expect her to be a tough-as-nails tomboy as opposed to a dorky girly girl.

As they were about to enter homeroom, both felt someone throw their arms around them and pull them close.

"Hey, guys," the girls' former bully turned bestie Cynthia Greenwood (always called by her last name) smiled at both of them. Greenwood had had a rough home-life due to her family being poor, and while there was never any PHYSICAL abuse, her parents often shouted at and berated each other and their daughter. As such, Greenwood became the school bully to vent her frustrations. Mai had been her favorite target to mock due to being an outcast, and Ani was a close second due to being meek and somewhat naïve. However, during the Ares incident, Mai and Greenwood both admitted their faults and were able to make peace, becoming friends in the process. Shortly after, Greenwood's parents went through a divorce, and she stayed at her grandmother's house for a while; this really helped her mellow out.

"Hey, Greenwood," Mai smiled, somewhat annoyed that she had (literally) gotten in between her and Ani.

"Hiya, Greenwood," Ani smiled brightly, "Good to see ya! How was your summer?"

Greenwood's grandma was old friends with the owner of a sports summer camp just outside of town, so Greenwood had spent the summer there free of charge. She had just gotten back on Saturday, and had spent all day yesterday doing her back-to-school shopping.

"Pretty good," Greenwood smiled brightly, as the trio chose their seats, being right in the first row, Mai in between the two of them (which may or may not have been due to her casually forcing her way into the seat next to Ani before Greenwood could sit down). As Greenwood talked about her summer, Mai drifted off, choosing to savor these last few minutes of freedom before the school year officially began.

In that time, she wondered how to go about the whole Ani situation. She knew it would be smart to act fast, because now that they were in high school, there would be plenty of other players in this game called Romance. She had heard rumors that at the start of each year, a few skeevy senior guys asked out freshmen girls SOLELY for the purpose of sleeping with a virgin. Mai could only imagine how many of these creeps were eyeing Ani in the halls earlier.

And maybe not just Ani. Mai subconsciously looked down at her legs; while Ani's skirt left everything to the imagination, Mai's shorts left very little. Not like Mai was a slut or looking for attention, she just always wore her soccer shorts which were technically short (almost "booty") shorts. She just liked giving her thighs and knees some breathing room.

Mai shook her head, figuring she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she knew she liked Ani, and simply had to figure out how to go about it.

Of course, that would have to wait, as the bell rang at that moment, signaling the start of class. Thankfully the teacher actually did most of the introducing, while his robot merely passed out papers. Nice to see people actually doing their jobs again.

* * *

The three didn't have every class together, but they did have lunch (as the hour was divided into 2 sessions, 9th and 10th first, then 11th and 12th). Thus, after fourth period, Mai got in line and waited for her friends. As Mai stood in the slowly growing line, she thought she could feel someone watching her. She turned, and saw some cool-looking sophomore guy eyeing her at a table. He wasn't JUST eyeing her legs and/or butt, but Mai still felt self-conscious. She didn't wanna cause a scene, so she casually grabbed a tray and let if hang down behind her, covering her lower half from the guy's view.

Finally getting her lunch, Mai looked around for a table to sit at. Since this wasn't a whole school lunch, freshmen had a little more breathing room, which meant that Mai didn't HAVE to sit by the trashcans. As she made her way to a random table, she heard, "Hey, Mai."

She turned to see the sophomore creep from earlier, leering at her.

"Can I help you?" She asked defensively, "And how do you know my name?"

He chuckled, "Babe, everyone knows your name. You don't stop a crazy robot from wiping out humanity and stay a nobody." Mai frowned at that, but reluctantly had to acknowledge that he was right. "Grant Lane V," The douchebag said, wiggling his eyebrows at her, "Mayor's son. I'll get right to the point, honey: My dad's a man of power who needs to look good. That means I need to look good. And having the town-saving hero on my arm would really help with that. Whatdayasay? Be my date to the Back-to-School Dance this Friday?" He flashed a cocky grin at Mai, who regarded him with nothing but disgust.

"Thanks, but I'll take a hard pass," Mai said, turning and continuing on, leaving him standing there in shock. Obviously a girl had turning him down was something completely foreign to a misogynistic a-hole like him.

Luckily he didn't come after her or try to cause a scene, allowing Mai to take her seat and wait for her friends in peace. As she waited, she thought about how possibly to make a move on Ani; this little interaction with Grant only furthered her thought that she needed to get off the market. Almost funny how a few months ago, she knew guys wouldn't have even looked twice in her direction. But now she was a hero, so she was actually surprised it had taken her this long to get hit on.

"Don't ya know it's noodle time…"

Mai smiled at hearing the light singing coming up behind her. Turning around, she spotted Ani just a few feet away, her headphones in while singing that annoying jingle; seriously, how had a jingle for noodles become such a popular song? It was catchy, sure, but one wouldn't think there was enough there to make a full 3-and-a-half minute long song.

Ani took a seat next to Mai and took her headphones out, "Hey, Mai, how's your day been so far?"

"Eh, mostly ok," Mai said, casually telling Ani about her interaction with Grant.

Suffice to say, Ani made a disgusted face upon hearing that, "What a pig! People like him clearly think they're all that just because they're rich and good looking." She then lightly chuckled, "Betcha he was blindsided when you turned him down, huh?"

"Yeah," Mai nodded, chuckling herself, "He just stood there, a look of shock on his face as I walked away. Wish I'd gotten it on camera."

"Totally," Ani nodded in agreement, "So, are you gonna go to the Back-to-School Dance with anyone? Since you're not going with Mayor Jr, I mean."

Mai blushed, as the thought of asking Ani to the dance had crossed her mind more than once today. Why not do it now? But…would Ani get it was as a date, or just think it was as friends?

Mai was about to open her mouth and reply…when Greenwood and her crew sat down. The 4 kids had also bullied the duo for the past few years, yet they had also mellowed out in the last few months, befriending the two after they officially joined the school's soccer team.

"Sup, dudes?" Greenwood got a conversation started about the new school year and soccer season coming up. And of course, while Mai was nervous as heck about asking Ani to the dance in general, she was even more anxious about doing it in front of people, so she decided to hold off on it.

* * *

The rest of the day went fairly well, with the standard first day routine kids and teens had gotten used to over the years. Finally, the last bell rang, and everyone dispersed. As Greenwood and her friends headed home, Mai and Ani waited for Molly; Ani was gonna hang out at Mai's for a bit, stay for dinner before heading home. They had been doing that a lot lately, spending time together, just the two of them, and Mai loved every minute of it.

Ani was in the middle of telling Mai another story about her brothers when Molly pulled up. The duo got in the backseat, wishing Molly a hello before resuming their conversation.

The afternoon was a fun one (especially since it was the first day and none of the teachers had handed out homework) spent watching TV, playing video games, and just sharing their thoughts on the upcoming school year. After dinner, they sat in Mai's room, just talking.

"…and then she actually mixed the two chemicals together to show us why we _shouldn't_ mix them," Ani finished her story from Chemistry class. Mai couldn't help but laugh at that; she was in geology class, but she would definitely have to take Chem next year so she could have this teacher.

"Ani!" Molly called up the stairs, "Your brother just called, he said he'll be here to pick you up in 5 minutes."

"Ok, Ms. Su!" Ani called back down, as she begrudgingly got up from her comfy spot at the foot of Mai's bed (Mai was laying on her bed, her upper-half casually hanging off the end of it) and headed for the door, Mai getting up and following her downstairs. When they got to the door, Ani wrapped her bestie in a hug, "Had fun, Mai, see ya in school tomorrow." Mai gladly returned the hug before Ani broke away grabbed her backpack, and headed to the curb, where her brother had just pulled up. She turned and waved to Mai one last time before getting into the car. Mai waved back, a slight blush on her face.

"That Ani sure is a sweet girl," Molly spoke up, getting a slight nod in response. Seeing her daughter wasn't fully paying attention to her, Molly grinned a devious mom grin, "So, when are you gonna ask her to be your girlfriend?"

Mai instantly snapped out of her stupor, her eyes went wide, and she turned around to face her mother, her face red as a tomato, "YOU KNOW?!"

Molly merely smirked at her flushed daughter, "Of course I know, Sweetie. A mother knows these things." She reached forward and pinched her daughter's cheek, "And I think it's so adorable that you've got a crush on Ani. She's a wonderful girl, and I hope you're planning on going for it."

"Um, well…I…" Mai was a stuttering mess. Not only was it embarrassing that her mother had so easily figured out her crush, but she was still sorta getting used to having her mom actually act like, well, a mom.

"Mai, Sweetie," Molly got down on one knee to look her daughter right in the eyes, "You shouldn't be afraid of going after what you want. That's how you get ahead in life. Besides, Ani's your best friend; worst that happens is that she politely rejects you, and it's awkward between you to for a couple of weeks." Mai frowned at that, but Molly continued before she could say anything, "But as bad as that sounds, I know you two would bounce back, going back to being besties. Plus, wouldn't you rather KNOW whether or not she feels the same way? Then if she doesn't, you can move on and not have to constantly wonder. But if she DOES, then you could get into your first relationship-" Molly suddenly paused, choking back a sob, "Oh, you're growing up so fast!" She pulled Mai into a bone crushing hug.

"Too tight, Mom, too tight!" Mai choked out, causing Molly to release her.

"Sorry, baby," Molly said, gently caressing her daughter's face, "But anyway, you get what I'm saying, right? Don't be afraid to take a chance."

"Your mother's right, Mai!" 77 called from his "room" in the backyard tool shed, "Ani is a special girl, and you shouldn't be afraid to ask her to the Back-to-School Dance."

Mai's eyes went wide as her mother squealed, "I'll get you a really nice dress. Ooh, maybe I can get you girls matching dresses." She squeezed her daughter in another super tight hug before hurrying away to her computer to look up local dress shops.

Mai merely nodded as she turned and headed up to her room, thinking over what her mother had just told her. As she changed into her pajamas and plopped down on her bed, with Momo, her pet chihuahua, jumping onto the bed and curling up next to her, Mai thought back to her first meeting with Ani.

At first, she had been annoyed when she heard that her soccer ball had hit someone, sure whoever it was was going to give her a tongue lashing. But Ani didn't; she completely understood that it was an accident and didn't even complain, accepting Mai's hasty apology before beginning to make small talk.

Mai could feel something special in that moment, particularly when Ani agreed with Mai's question that she was weird. She actually felt like she might be able to make a friend, maybe not be so lonely anymore. Truth be told, Mai sometimes wondered what would have happened if she hadn't met 77 and the whole incident with Ares hadn't happened.

She recalled the next day Ani had asked her how she was feeling, showing concern over her black eye. But Mai had sorta brushed her off, instead eager for what she had planned with 77 after school. Throughout the next couple of weeks, Mai had mainly kept to herself at school, though she did start sitting with Ani at lunch. Their next real interaction was the day that Mai had shown up right after Greenwood had been messing with Ani. Sadly, the two didn't really have much time to chat that day, considering how downward everything had started spiraling, first from the issues with Mai being no better than Greenwood, to the whole incident with Ares.

But immediately after all that nonsense, Mai and Ani had met up at the soccer field and talked, starting a friendship; and when they both joined the soccer team, that friendship had only become stronger. And of course, it wasn't too long before Mai realized she wanted to be more than friends with her redheaded bestie.

As Mai stroked Momo's head, scratching his ears, she thought over how her mom and 77 were right: she needed to make her move on Ani before it was too late. If nothing else, at least she'd have confirmation over whether Ani recuperated her feelings.

"I'll ask her to the dance," Mai decided, as she slowly drifted off to sleep, "I'm gonna do it!"

* * *

"Why didn't I do it?"

Mai looked around the school gymnasium, at all the teens mingling and dancing with each other. It was already Friday night, and the gym was decorated for the dance. Mai had agreed to meet Ani and Greenwood here, mainly just to hang out, though Greenwood also said something about getting some social points with the older kids.

Mai didn't care about that, she just wanted to hang out with her friends. Of course, she also wanted to dance with Ani, maybe confess her feelings in the process? Mai looked down at her dress her mother had gotten her for the evening. It was a purple, strapless dress that came down to her knees; she also had purple heels that her mom had somehow convinced her to wear. She was wearing red lipstick and some light eyeshadow. Mai looked around the gym again, hoping to spot her favorite red afro of curly hair, but sadly nothing.

"Hey, babe."

Mai grimaced at hearing his voice again. She turned around and found herself face to face with Grant, who was eyeing her up and down. He was dressed in a fairly nice black tuxedo, and Mai would have admitted he looked great…if she didn't know what he was like on the inside, that is.

"What do ya want, Grant?" She asked with an eyeroll.

Ignoring her annoyance at his presence, Grant smirked, "To dance, of course." He reached out and gripped her wrist, attempting to drag her to the dance floor.

"Let go of me!" She snapped, trying to get free.

Grant turned to her, ready to say something…when he face contorted in pain as he let go of Mai and crumpled to the ground, clutching his crotch in pain. Startled, Mai looked to see that Ani had appeared and kicked Grant in his manhood.

"You ok, Mai?" Ani asked, going from glaring at the crumpled jock to looking at her bestie concerned.

"Ye…yeah," Mai stuttered, lightly blushing, "Thanks, Ani."

"No prob," Ani smiled, as Mai looked her up and down. She was wearing a dress and heels that matched Mai's, the only difference being her were bright red opposed to purple. She was also wearing a little makeup and missing her bow. As Mai stared at her, amazed at how gorgeous she looked, Ani spoke up, "So…wanna dance?"

Mai's eyes went wide, "D…dance? You mean, like, together?"

"Well, I just mean go wild," Ani shrugged, "Seeing as we didn't bring any dates to dance with."

Mai's face fell, just a bit, "Oh, right, of course." Tugging the edge of her dress down a little, Mai followed Ani onto the dance floor where they started dancing to the beat. Mai kept close to Ani, though there wasn't much room with all the rowdy teens dancing around.

"This is so much fun!" Ani squealed over the music, as she lightly bumped her fanny against Mai's. Needless to say, this nearly caused Mai to wipe out both physically and mentally. Thankfully, at the last second, Ani saw what she had done and grabbed Mai's arm before she could hit the ground. As Ani leaned over, holding onto Mai, they smiled at each other, with Ani hastily apologizing, "Sorry bout that."

As Ani pulled Mai up, she briefly stumbled, causing her to pull harder than she meant to, bringing Mai up close, face-to-face. Mai gulped as they stared at each other, "All g…good."

They stayed like that for a good half-a-minute, just staring at each other. Mai couldn't help herself, and leaned in and stole a quick kiss.

She instantly pulled back, unable to believe what she had just done. Her face was bright red as she stared at Ani's shocked face. "I…I'm so sorry. I just…I just…" Tears started to well in her eyes as Ani remained still, nearly expressionless. Mai turned, ready to run out of the gym…when she felt two arms wrap around her from behind.

"Thanks," Ani nuzzled into her upper back, "I don't think I ever would have had the guts to do that to you, Mai."

Mai's heart fluttered as she gripped one of Ani's hands in her own. She turned back around to see her friend had a blush that rivaled her own. They stared at each other for a good minute, until they heard, "Well, well, well, what have we here?"

The duo turned to see Greenwood and her crew smirking at them; though, unlike a few months ago, these were friendly, teasing smirks. They two let go of each other and tried to act casual…and failed horribly at it.

"So," Greenwood began, "Who made the first move?" When neither girl answered, Greenwood pressed, "Come on, guys, ya gotta tell us."

"It was Mai," Ani blushed, "Technically I set into motion the series of events that lead up to it, but she kissed me."

Greenwood's grin widened as she held out her hand, her four friends each placing a $10 bill into her palm. When Ani and Mai shot her questioning looks, she shrugged, "The five of us, as well as most of the team, could easily tell that you two were into each other. After a few weeks of you two giving each other longing looks when the other wasn't looking, the gang and I finally made a bet about which one of you would make the first move. These four were actually leaning towards you, Ani, but I had a feeling Mai's tough stubbornness would win in the end."

The girls blushed as they looked at each other, each wondering if their crush on each other really was that obvious?

As the gang turned to the snack table, Greenwood spoke up, "Also, Coach overheard us talking, suspected as well but didn't wanna confront you, and told us that if we were right, to tell you to focus on soccer during the games, and if you break up, keep it civil, otherwise you're both off the team."

Mai's eyes widened at that, though Ani gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "All good, Greenwood, we're mature teens, we can handle being in a relationship and being on the same sports team." Mai felt reassured at hearing that Ani felt that way about the two of them at this point.

As Greenwood headed to the snack table, Ani turned to Mai and asked shyly, "So, Mai, you, uh, wanna be my girlfriend? I mean, it's fine if you don't, just thought I'd ask!"

Before Ani could nervously ramble on and on, Mai took her hand and gave it a squeeze, smiling at her, "I'd love to be your girlfriend, Ani."

This caused the redhead to stop rambling and smile. To add to the moment, at that very moment a slow song started up, causing the two to blush at each other.

"May I…have this dance?" Mai nervously asked, at which Ani eagerly nodded. Holding hands, the two made their way to the dance floor, where Mai took the lead as they gently swayed together. Thankfully no one gave them anything other than a passing glance.

As they danced together, Mai felt her heart light up with fireworks. She did it; she finally got the girl!

* * *

 _2 weeks later…_

Mai was, understandably, nervous. She would be meeting Ani's family tonight, as the two were having a sleepover at her place. They had only been dating a couple of weeks, but Ani's brothers had already insisted on meeting Mai, seeing as she had won over their baby sister's heart.

"You'll be fine, Sweetie," Molly assured her daughter as they drove to Ani's apartment complex, "Just be yourself and they'll love you. After all, I accepted Ani, so why won't her family accept you?"

Mai merely looked out the window, sullenly replying, "What if they see I'm a loser? Or think I'm a bad influence?"

Switching the car to auto-drive, Molly reached over and pulled her daughter into a hug, "Don't think like that, Mai. I'm sure they'll see that you're just right for their little girl. Just keep your head up and try to think positive."

Mai smiled as she returned the hug, "Thanks, Mom."

"Don't mention it," Molly replied tenderly, as they finally pulled up to the apartment Ani's family lived in.

Mai took a deep breath and exited the car with her sleeping bag under her arm and her overnight bag slung over her shoulder. She approached the building; it was 5 stories tall, and looked somewhat "upper-middle class". Mai turned and waved to her mother, before approaching the door.

While people were taking more active roles in their lives and jobs, there were still obviously some areas where robots were better equipped; the door to this apartment, for example. "Non-resident, state your name and business!" It stated, scanning her.

"Uh…Mai Su," Mai replied, somewhat startled, "I'm here for a sleepover with my girlfriend Ani Akana."

The door's face disappeared for a moment, before returning with Ani's FaceBook screen, which it went over before finding the "relationship" status, showing Ani with Mai. After a minute of going through FaceBook and the town's database, the door's face reappeared with a smile, "Very well, have a wonderful evening, Mai Su. The Akana apartment is 5.25." At that, the door opened for her. She stepped inside and made her way to the elevator, which she took up to the fifth floor.

Arriving at Apartment 5.25, Mai took a deep breath, before knocking on the door. She could hear some scuffling and what sounded like yelling, before the door was pulled open.

The guy who opened the door was clearly Ani's brother; the curly bright red hair being a dead giveaway. He was tall and muscular, dressed in a simple jeans and t-shirt.

"Ah," He smiled warmly, sticking out his hand, "You must be Mai. Good to meet ya!"

Mai smiled as she shook his hand. He stepped back and let her into the apartment. She took a look around and noticed the living area was fairly spacious, being one of those big rooms that functioned as a living/dining room, with an island separating the kitchen area; the far wall held a giant window with a decent view of the city. To the left was a single hall that Mai figured held the bedrooms and bathroom.

"Nice to meet you, too, Sir," Mai responded politely, "I'm guessing you're…" She looked him over, and thought over what all Ani had told her about her family over the months, "Axel?"

"Yup," He smiled, making his way to the kitchen area, "Oldest of the Akana kids. The twins are in their room, and Cubert and Artie are still at work."

Mai remembered that Ani had told her that her closest aged brothers were twins Adam and Andy who were still in college, and that Artie (the second-oldest) had a job at town hall with their step-father; Axel was the morning shift assistant manager at the local grocery store.

"Cool," Mai replied, taking a seat on the couch. Like her, Ani had a nice flat-screen TV, though Mai had to acknowledge that the Akana's was a 60", whereas Mai's as only a 55".

"Ani's in her room," Axel said, opening the oven to check on dinner, "Food should be ready in about 15. ANI!"

Ani's door opened, as did the twins' door. All three hurried out, the twins reaching Mai first. Mai looked them over and noticed that while they were identical in appearance, their wardrobe could not have been more different. While they both had their family's curly red hair, one was wearing dark, Gothic apparel, while the other one was dressed in bright colors meant to stand out.

"So," The Gothic one droned in a monotone voice, "You're the mystery girl who has won over our younger female sibling's affections." He looked her up and down for a moment, before sticking out his hand, "I'm Adam."

"And I'm Andy," The brightly-dressed twin smiled in a big voice, also sticking out his hand, "Pleased to meet ya!"

Mai merely smiled and shook their hands as Ani stepped in between them, "Ok, you've all met Mai, now we'll be in my room!" She grabbed Mai by the wrist and started to pull her to her bedroom, when Axel stepped in front of them.

"Not so fast, baby sis," he said, roughly patting her head, "I'm sure Mai would LOVE to get to know all of us, and dinner's almost done, so why don't the two of you just hang out? Out here. Where we can keep an eye on you so you don't try anything inappropriate."

"Axel!" Ani whined, blushing deeply, "We were just gonna hang out. We're not gonna do anything!"

"Even so, you can hang out in the living room," Axel said, lightly guiding the two back to the couch, in between the twins.

The next few minutes were super awkward as Mai was bombarded by question after question from the twins, Ani's face growing redder with each passing moment. Thankfully they didn't get TOO personal, but Mai could definitely see why her girlfriend was embarrassed.

"So how did you two officially meet?" Adam asked in a bored tone, "Ani told us that she's sat behind you for quite some time."

"When did you two decide to go from being best buddies to more?" Andy asked, a smile on his face.

"Are you both aware of the stats surrounding a high school freshmen-aged relationship?" Adam droned, "Not very good, especially if you've only been friends for a little while."

"Oh, Adam," Andy chuckled, rolling his eyes, "It's not like they're already planning the wedding. They're just testing the waters out at the moment. And I must say," He grinned, pinching his little sister's cheek, "It's so wonderful our baby sis has found herself a little girlfriend."

"Aaaaaaannnnnddddyyyy!" Ani whined, pushing his hand away from his face. Mai couldn't help but giggle at Ani's reaction.

During the questioning, Artie returned; he was rather skinny, and dressed in a nice suit with his hair combed as well as it could be. "Cubert's parking the car," He said, collapsing into the chair next to the sofa, "Thank god it's Friday; 2 days of sleeping in and no work!"

"Um, Artie?" Ani spoke up, grabbing her brother's attention, "This is Mai, the girl I told you about."

"Pleased to meet ya," He said, reaching over and sticking out his hand, which Mai shook, "So, you're our baby sister's girlfriend, huh? Gotta say, wasn't too surprised when he told us you're dating, seeing as you're all she's talked about these past few months."

At that comment, Ani's face turned even redder than her hair. Mai noticed and couldn't help but tease, "Aww, you talk about me all the time around your brothers?" as she leaned into her girlfriend. To be fair, Mai's situation was pretty much the same; she always told her mom how her day had been, and the stories she told usually revolved around Ani in one way or another.

All 4 of the boys chuckled at how red their little sister was getting. Axel, who was standing behind the couch, reached over and tussled Ani's hair, which seemed to shake her out of her stupor.

"OKAY, GUESSING DINNER'S ABOUT READY, HUH?" She asked loudly and uncomfortably, as she grabbed Mai's wrist and dragged her to the table, which was at the back of the room by the window. Mai merely chuckled at this, as did the guys.

Andy and Adam sat on the side of the table facing the window, while Artie and Ani took their seats across them with their backs to the window. Ani then pulled the chair from the end of the table next to her, inviting Mai to take a seat.

"Doesn't your dad need that seat?" Mai asked, as Axel carried over the main course and sat at the other end of the table.

At that, the air grew thick with tension. The siblings looked warily at each other, before Axel spoke up, "Ani, you…told her, right?"

"Told me what?" Mai asked, confused as she looked at Ani, who avoided her gaze.

"Ani…" Axel spoke in a warning tone.

Ani fidgeted, before turning to Mai and sighing, "Mai, are you…are you aware of…McMasterson's Law?"

Mai raised an eyebrow in confusion, "You mean that law that prohibits people from dating, marrying, and screwing robots?" Due to her mother's up-until-recently dependence on robots, Mai had been slightly worried about how far this "love" would go, so she had looked up any information on human-robot relationships. Turns out there was indeed a law, McMasterson's Law, that prohibited such relationships. Oddly enough the law was only about a decade old.

"Yeah," Ani rubbed her neck and looked at Mai, face red, "Well, while our father's- birth father, that is- last name was Akana…our mother's last name was…McMasterson."

Mai looked at her girlfriend, then to the guys, all of whom were looking down. At that moment, Mai recalled Ani's stepfather's name…

Cubert.

"Kiddos, I'm home!" At that moment, the apartment door opened, revealing a Gen 1 Q-Bot. He was holding a briefcase and had a tie and a fedora-like hat on. He wheeled over and set the briefcase by the couch, before making his way to the kitchen, "So, is everyone having their usual sides and drinks tonight?"

"Yes," All 5 Akanas replied. After a moment of rifling around the fridge, Cubert came over holding 10 side cups, 5 noodles, 5 veggies. He wheeled around the table, dishing them out. He then went back and repeated this process with drinks. He then took his place at the opposite end of the table, right next to Mai. As he was about to clasp his hands together, he paused.

Looking around the table, he noticed there was an extra person seated with them. His eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "We have a guest tonight." He stuck out his hand as a microphone popped out of his chest, both towards Mai, "Pleased to meet you, miss…?"

Looking at the rest of the family, who all nodded, Mai shook his hand as she spoke into the microphone, "Uh…Mai."

"Pleasure to have you join us tonight, Uh…Mai," Cubert smiled, "So, I'm going to guess you're the little lady that my Little Snuggle Pumpkin has been telling us about."

Mai had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from bursting out laughing at that nickname, and she could tell the boys were also trying to keep from laughing as Ani's face turned the brightest shade of red it had all night. ""Little Sn…Snuggle P…Pumpkin?" She managed to squeak out, trying her hardest not to laugh.

"Ah yes," Cubert said, smiling fondly, "For Ani's first three Halloweens, her parents dressed her up as a jack-o-lantern. And she was always looking to snuggle with someone, even me." He chuckled as he gestured to himself.

"Wait, you knew BOTH of Ani's parents?" Mai asked in surprise, temporarily stifling her amusement. It really was shocking, seeing as he had been, well, _married_ to Ani's mother.

"Our family was fairly poor," Axel spoke up, "4 kids and one working parent didn't really bring in a lot of cash. Luckily right before Ani was born, our dad got a nice bonus at work, which he used to purchase Cubert. This allowed our Mom to start working, bringing in some extra money while Cubert watched us."

"And like I said," Cubert chuckled, "Ani's Halloween costume was a jack-o-lantern, and she was always eager for hugs. Thus, she became my Little Snuggle Pumpkin." At this, his arm extended over and tussled Ani's hair.

"Well, it's an adorable nickname," Mai smiled, throwing an arm around Ani and pulling her close, "I just might have to steal it."

"Like heck you will!" Ani exclaimed, tomato red as she forced herself out of Mai's embrace.

"Now, Ani," Cubert said in a stern tone, "If Uh…Mai wants to call you by a pet nickname, what's the harm in that? And besides, I've been calling you Little Snuggle Pumpkin since you were a baby."

"And it hasn't gotten any less embarrassing now that I'm in high school," Ani muttered, frowning and crossing her arms in a pout. This only caused everyone else at the table to chuckle.

"Anyway," Cubert robotically chuckled, "Uh…Mai, what can I get you to drink? And what type of noodles and vegetables would you like for your sides?"

As her laughter slowly subsided, Mai looked around the table at what everyone else had, before turning to Cubert, "Could I please have a raspberry tea, cheesy noodles and lima beans?"

"Oh course," Cubert replied, rolling over to the fridge and retrieving the requested items, which he then placed in front of the girl. As Mai went to press the tops of the cups (which would heat them up), Ani grabbed her wrist.

"We do it together so we just hear the songs once," She stated, at which everyone else nodded. Mai nodded in understanding, and held her hand above the noodle cup as Cubert counted down from 3. The buttons were pressed at the same time. After the standard Noodle Time song played, they did the same to the veggie cups. After everyone's sides were heated up, Axel took the top off of the main course plate, revealing a pot roast.

As Axel started cutting into the roast, Mai noticed Cubert pull an extension cord out of his back and roll over to an outlet right by the window, plugging himself in before heading back to the table.

"Remember," Ani whispered in her ear, startling her, "Gen 1 Q-Bots needed to be plugged in to charge. Basically, that's his dinner."

Mai nodded, holding up her plate, which Axel placed a slice of roast on. After everyone had their food, Axel spoke up, "Time for grace, everyone."

The others nodded as they all looked down, closed their eyes, and folded their hands; Mai followed suit, even though she and her mother didn't say grace at home.

Cubert lead the prayers, "Thank you for this wonderful dinner we are about to have with our loved ones, including our guest, Uh…Mai. We wish each other another glorious day tomorrow, as we enjoy this feast. Amen."

"Amen," All five siblings said in unison, with Mai stumbling in a second later. At that, everyone began eating.

The second Mai took a bite of her roast, she became lost in bliss. "Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed, as she savored the bite, "Axel, this is DELICIOUS!"

"Thank you," He chuckled, "I can be pretty good in the kitchen, so I've been told."

"Can be?" Ani laughed, "Axel, you're the best cook any of us know! Why you're not working in a restaurant, I still don't know."

"Because restaurants don't pay the bills," Adam rolled his eyes, "One of the main reasons many people today don't follow their dreams is because they can't instantly get rich doing them."

"Adam," Axel sighed, "It's not about getting rich, it's about us having a steady flow of money. I've said it before, once Ani graduates high school, maybe I'll look into a restaurant as a second job."

"Bro, you don't need to wait for me," Ani said, smiling sweetly at her oldest brother, "You should get out there, follow your dreams. Besides," She took another bite of her roast, "I feel kinda bad that more people aren't enjoying your food." The others all agreed to that.

"Thanks, everyone," Axel blushed, "I mean, I would love to work in a restaurant, maybe even run my own one day. But for now, we gotta budget wisely, and considering restaurant pay AND the fact that 9 out of 10 new restaurants fail in the first year, it's just not something we can afford." The siblings sadly nodded at that.

"Well, Axel," Cubert spoke up, "There have been rumors of a promotion going around at work. I could look into it, give us some extra cash. Maybe I could even make Arthur my assistant, give us both a pay raise. Then you would be free to pursue your passion."

"That could work," Artie spoke up, as everyone else nodded, "What'd ya say, bro?"

"Well…" Axel paused, looking around at the eager faces of his family and guest, "I…I guess there's no harm in looking into the promotion, and then seeing what happens afterwards. I have seen a couple restaurants advertising job offers for chefs, so…" He paused again, and Ani took the initiative.

"Do it, bro! You could finally achieve your lifelong dream." The others, including Mai, spoke up with similar words of encouragement.

Axel finally nodded, "I guess it's a done deal, then. As soon as Cubert and Artie look into that promotion, I'll look into those job offers."

"I'll speak with my manager first thing on Monday," Cubert stated, with Artie nodding.

The rest of dinner was filled with idle chatter, though Ani did sneak a peck on Mai's cheek, whispering a thanks for helping give her brother the push he needed; Mai blushed in response.

After dinner, the twins got to work clearing the table and doing the dishes, while Cubert asked to speak with Mai in his room.

"Guess I'm gonna get the "dad talk", huh?" Mai chuckled nervously as she followed Cubert down the hall. He gave her the quick tour, stating the rooms on the left were the twins' room and Artie and Axel's room, while the rooms on the right were his and Ani's rooms (the bathroom was at the end of the hall).

Entering Cubert's room, Mai noticed it was very simple, containing only a desk with a laptop, a single chair, and a Q-Bot charging station; the closet was empty. Cubert gestured for Mai to have a seat in the chair. As she sat, he eyed her as he paced back and forth for a moment, before turning to face her.

"Now, Uh…Mai," He began, "I want to ask what your intentions with my daughter are?"

Mai gulped, finding this more intimidating than she thought she would, "W…well, sir, I have had romantic feelings for Ani for a few months, and upon taking a chance and confessing my feelings to her, which she obviously returned, I promised myself that I would treat her with the respect she deserves, make her feel special and know I care about her."

Cubert stared at her intently for a few seconds, before brightening up, "Very well! I hope I can trust you to follow through on your word, Uh…Mai." He stuck out his hand, and Mai sighed in relief as she shook it. After that, Cubert sent her away, telling her he had to do some research on the promotion he would be looking into, and thus asked that she and Ani keep it down, "…and PG." Needless to say, Mai's face was bright red as she exited his room.

As she closed the door, she turned to head next door to Ani's room…only to freeze as she found herself facing all four of Ani's older brothers. "Um, hey, guys," She said nervously, noticing the looks on their faces did not seem to be too friendly, "I was just gonna go chill with Ani. She said maybe later tonight we could watch a movie."

"Sure, that sounds fine," Axel said, taking a lumbering step towards her, causing her to shrink back, "But, Ani's, um, hanging in her room at the moment, and we told her we needed to speak with you before you join her."

"Um, sure," Mai said, a nervousness growing, "But, uh, just so ya know, Cubert already gave me the "dad talk" and all that."

"We know," Artie nodded, "Now it's time for the "protective older brothers talk", ya know?"

"R…right," Mai nodded, realizing it was inevitable.

"Now, Mai," Axel, who had during this time made his way to her side, said, slowly reaching his hand into the back of her shorts, gripping her panties and pulling up HARD, "We just want you to know that we have always been super overprotective of our baby sis."

"Uuuuugggghhh," Mai groaned, as her pink-and-purple-striped bikini panties invaded her most sensitive regions, "G…gotcha."

"Understandably," Artie continued, "Despite her bubbly personality, she's always had a bit of a hard time making friends. We love the guy, but it's clearly because of the backlash from our mom marrying Cubert."

"And unlike us," Andy spoke up, the cheeriness in his voice still present despite his serious tone, "Ani isn't the kind of person to make sure people know not to mess with her. Thus, she's been walked all over her whole life."

"Which is why we constantly try to toughen her up," Adam spoke up next, "And apparently it sorta worked."

Axel bounced Mai a couple times as he continued, "We were, understandably, beyond ecstatic when our baby sis came home and told us she might have finally made a real friend. You know which day that was?"

"The day I, ah, the day I hit her with my soccer ball?" Mai asked, going cross-eyed as her wedgie worsened.

"Yup," Axel nodded, as he turned and walked next door to his baby sister's room, "We were thrilled as over the next couple of weeks she told us about you. Of course, we were a little concerned when we found out exactly who you were."

"Saving the city and possibly the world was great," Artie added, opening Ani's door, "Finding out you were going on a robot destroying spree…not so much."

"But then you both joined the soccer team, and even managed to befriend that little former b-word Greenwood," Axel chuckled, "Thus, we figured you were ok. And like good, vigilant older brothers, we were able to soon figure out that our little sis liked you as more than a friend."

"So, Mai," Artie leaned against Ani's closet, "We're not gonna have any problems, are we? You and Ani will behave, right?"

"And if your feelings for her dissipate, you'll be kind enough to TELL her and politely break up with her, not cheat on her or dump her in a text, right?" Axel sent her a glare, which caused her to frantically nod her head in agreement. This brought a smile to all four of their faces. "Good," Axel said, before nodding to Artie, who turned around and opened Ani's closet door.

Mai gasped as she saw Ani in a hanging wedgie, her solid white granny panties attached to a coat hanger. While the wedgie looked painful, the part that surprised Mai was the fact that Ani didn't seem too bothered by it, and was just casually reading a book. She looked up when the closet door was open, and grimaced at the sight of her girlfriend getting a vicious wedgie at the hands of her oldest brother.

"Axel," She groaned, "Why are ya doing that to Mai? It's annoying enough you did it to me tonight."

"Just wanted to make sure she understands that you're a special girl and that she needs to be a good girlfriend to you," Axel said, reaching in and pinching his sister's cheek, "And now to see if she's really willing to stick around…" He snapped his fingers, and Artie reached into the closet and grabbed another coat hanger. Mai's eyes went wide as she realized they didn't open the closet to get Ani down.

Axel shifted his grip, grabbing Mai's shorts and pulling them up in an equally vicious wedgie. He then stretched both her shorts and panties until they were about a foot long, wrapping them around the coat hanger before tying them in a tight knot. He then reached in and hung her a little ways away from Ani.

"We're gonna hang out for the rest of tonight," Axel explained, as they began to file out of the room, "If you promise to keep it down, we'll get you down around midnight so you can watch a movie or two. Behave." He reached in and pecked his sister on the forehead before stepping out and closing the door, shrouding the girls in darkness.

As they hung, Mai groaned in discomfort, "How are you so calm right now? I almost wanna cry in pain."

"Remember, Mai," Ani replied back, "This has been pretty much my whole life. I'm in so much pain right now, but I've kinda gotten used to it. Plus, the fact that anytime I beg them to get me down, they add time has made me learn to just deal with it."

"Add time?" Mai grimaced, before her eyes went wide, "Wait, what time is it?"

"We got done with dinner a little before 7ish," Ani replied, "And yes, Axel was being serious when he said that he'd get us down around midnight, so we're in for a long five hours. But don't worry, they usually give me a bathroom break, so I'm sure you'll get one, too, if you need it."

Mai groaned, twisting her head to try to get a look at her underwear, muttering, "Maybe they'll rip?"

"What were you wearing?" Ani asked, "Not trying to be pervy or forward or anything, just asking so I can answer your question. What type?"

"Bikini-briefs," Mai muttered, a little red in the face even though she knew Ani had already seen them.

"Yeah, that's why they wedgied your shorts, too," Ani explained, "The bikinis alone probably would have already started ripping by now. That's why they always buy me granny panties, plenty of strong material for long wedgie sessions."

"Yeesh," Mai muttered, "How do you not walk funny or not always need to be sitting on ice?"

"Years of experience mixed with nothing super cruel," Ani explained, "Heck, this five-hour hanging wedgie is actually the worst it's been in a while. But…" She paused, and Mai (both their eyes having slowly adjusted to the darkest by now) noticed her frown.

"But what?" She asked, slowly reaching over and cupping her girlfriend's chin and lifting it to look at her. Her heart broke when she saw a couple tears running down Ani's cheeks.

"They don't want me to grow up to be weak, and that means anyone I wanna date can't be weak either," She choked so, "So that means…" She paused again, not wanting to say it, though Mai easily put 2 and 2 together.

"I'd better get used to this, huh?" She chuckled, causing Ani to look at her in surprise. She smirked, "Ani, you know me. Am I the type of girl to be scared away by some rough-housing older brothers?" Ani shook her head, and Mai continued, "Of course not. You said that your bros also wrestle all the time, right? Well, I think I'm gonna fit in JUST fine, here."

Ani smiled at hearing that, and Mai, despite the added pain, reached forward and kissed Ani.

"So," Mai said, pulling away, "Guess we've got a bit of time to…hang out." Both of them couldn't help but chuckle at the terrible pun. "Any tips for passing the time?"

"Well, I always keep a couple books in here, though ya gotta squint to read them," Ani said, reaching up and grabbing a couple. She handed one to Mai, who could just make out the cover. "Or we could try running in place. My brothers usually leave me alone if I get down on my own."

"Let's…stick to reading in the dark," Mai grimaced, in no mood to make her wedgie worse for a slight attempt to get down.

"Okeydoke," Ani said happily, as she went back to the book she had been reading. Mai couldn't help but smile again. While her crack was in excruciating pain, she figured she could deal with this if it meant being with Ani.

After all, no relationship was perfect.

* * *

 **There ya go. Like I said, I've tried to write same-sex relationship fanfics before, but this time I put a little more effort into it. I can honestly state this isn't my best work, but I think it still turned out ok (especially considering this is the first fanfic I've put up in, like, half-a-year).**

 **If you have Netflix, I highly suggest the animated movie Next Gen, it's quite enjoyable.**

 **R &R**


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